There continues to be an increasing demand for the production of high efficiency photovoltaic cells (e.g., solar cells). A solar cell is an electronic device that converts incoming light into electrical energy in the form of a current across a load. Specifically, a solar cell includes two-terminals that are connected to a load in such a manner that a direct current is generated across the terminals when the cell is illuminated by light of an appropriate wavelength.
Solar cells are commonly made of 200-μm-thick wafers of crystalline silicon of high purity. High purity crystalline silicon is a material that involves substantial difficulty and energy to produce and is therefore relatively expensive. Accordingly, there have been a number of efforts to make solar cells out of materials other than thick crystalline silicon wafers. For example, methods of producing solar cells via the deposition of films containing one or more of: CdTe, Cu(InGa)Se2, or alloys thereof, onto a variety of surfaces have been explored. However, it has been found that solar cells made out of materials other than high purity crystalline silicon have encountered problems in reaching industrialization because of their lower efficiency, limitations in manufacturing, lifetime, toxic components or limited availability.
The present disclosure provides for a manufacturing process that produces silicon films that may be used directly in the manufacture of efficienct solar cells that are less expensive than the high-grade crystalline silicon wafers that are currently used.